Improvement in gar-couplings and buffers



ANslEL STEVENS.

|mprvement in Car-Coupling and Buffer.

No. 126,849. y Panam Mayi14,'1872..

WWW@ :M l @www AM. PHam-ur/faanAPH/o sa u, x fasaR//fs Pnocsss) ANSEL STEVENS, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-OUPLINGS AND BUFFERS.'

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 126,849, dated May I4, 1872.

To whom it may concern: i

Be it known that I, ANsEL STEVENS, of Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented a new and useful Gombined Car-Coupling and Buffer; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure lis a bottom viewl of my device, showing the manner of its attachment to the car. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line m .fr of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end view of the same with a portion of theend of a car.

Y Same letters show like parts.

The object of my invention is to produce an automatic coupling for cars, combinedwith a spring-buffer, in such a manner that there cannot at any time be any slack between the cars composing a train, thus not only avoiding the unpleasant consequences, usually attendant upon starting `or stopping a train, of the concussion between the buffers and upon the shackling devices, as when any of the common forms of coupling and buffer are used, to the passengers in the train 5 but my invention also eifects a great saving in the wear upon the equipment of the road.

This is effected by means of the combination of the following devices and appliances, which I will now proceed to describe: The coupling of the cars is effected by means of the hookformed bar a. The end of the bar a, at the point where two from different cars come in M contact, is made semicircular, as seen at b, so -that the two slip upon the said semicircular faces by each other andhook upon the projections c.- The said bar a is pivoted at d, so as to `permit suficientilateral motion for coupling, as above described. The stirrup-iron or hanger e is provided with the slots ff, and the said hanger made tolit closely the bar a to prevent any injurious twisting or turning of the bar a, yet at the same time moves freely with the bar a on the said slots ff, the hanger being supported by the large headed bolts passing through the said slots ff, and allowing a free backward and forward motion. At h, Fig. l, is shown the short lever, pivoted with in the draw-bar at or near its center in such a manner that when the forward end is swung outward it serves to uncouple the cars or to prevent coupling. To this block his attached the chain t', passing outward to the arm of the lever j, which said lever` is pivoted at k, which may be at any convenient part of the end of car. In the hand-rail above (or this may be an appliance made specially for this purpose on cars where no hand-rail is found) are seen the slots l Z l, which hold the lever` at each of these points, and by means of its connectingchaine' operating upon the bar h, and by means of these devices, by changing the lever from one slot to another the car may be ready to be coupled; or by changing the lever into another of the slots l, the coupling may be prevented; and by still another change in the same devices, uncoupling may be prevented. This last result maybe secured by means of the crooked end of thelever l, which, when the lever j is thrown into the outermost of the slots Z, is pressed up into the cavity m cut for the purpose, and thus eifectually prevents the movement of the stirrup-iron ein a lateral direction outward, the bar a also being kept continually pressed inward by the operation ofthe spring a, Fig. 1. Backward from the pivot d. is the frame o, so arranged that the block p and its attached block q, to which the bar is pivoted, may -move backward and forward in the direction of its length, but has no lateral or sidewise motion; but from p backward to the rigidly-set block r passes the rod s, surrounded by the spring t, whose elasticity is directed so as to constantly resist any inclination of the cars to come together and to throw the bar a outwardin the direction of its length. At the point d is also connectedthe buer u, bearing the same relation to the spring t as does the draw-bar a. The said buffer is placed immediately above the draw-bar a, and has also a spring, which conjointly acts with the spring t to resist the coming together of the cars, but, being less rigid than the springt, closes first. The end of the buffer u may be provided with a broad sheet of iron, w, or any other suitable material, which, overlappin g from one car to another, forms a convenientV footway to lpass upon from one car to another. The end ofthe draw-bar al may have the chamber x for the reception of the link, when it is desired to couple cars having my improvement with others having the ordinary link and pin.

I am aware of many different couplings in which a hook is used, and I do not claim Athe use of the hook broadly; but only in the particular form, and in combination with the devices herein set forth, to attain not only the coupling of the cars, but also to secure aregular even motion to the whole train, securing comfort to the passengers, and to a great extent immunity from accident, and excessive wear upon the equipments of the road.

The operation of the buffer u is purely automatic, and so simple as to be readily understood. The two springs t and o, heretofore described, when the ears are shackled, constantly pressing outward, allow none of the drawing mechanism to become slack, and thus the train can be started or stopped smoothly and easily. To couple cars with my device, all that is necessary to do is to put the lever j'into the middle slot l and the two cars run together; the two semicircular heads of the draw-bars slipping past each other, as before described, and the cars are coupled. To unoouple, the lever j is thrown into the inner slot I, the draw-bar a is drawn by the chain i, (which chain also operates upon the pivoted rod h, as shown,) and is thrown outward from the line of draft, the pivoted rod h aiding by llin g up the hook, in the manner previously described, and the cars are uncoupled. The effect of placing the lever j in the outer slot l has been previously described, and does not require repetition, merely saying that it leaves all the previously-described mechanism free to act as described.

What I claim' as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a hooked draw-bar, the lever 7L arranged in the draw-bar, to operate as set forth.

2. In combination with the lever h, pivoted as described within the draw-bar, the chain and hand lever, made to operate as set forth.

3. The stirrup made to closely fit the drawbar and to slide with the bar, as set forth.

4. In combination with the sliding stirrup, the bent end of the lever, acting as a stop to limit the motion of the bar and stirrup.

5. The lever ij, constructed and journaled as described, with a chain connecting it to the lever in the draw-bar, and hook operating as a stop, all as described.

6. The hooked draw-bar provided with suitable buer and draw-springs, in combination with the buffer-bar u and spring '11, constructed and operating as set forth.

Witnesses: ANSEL STEVENS.

D. W. SGRIBNER, F. E. J oRDAN. 

